Corrosive
by carved in the sand
Summary: It's always been in her eyes, corrosive, just beneath the surface. {The NaruHina Drabble Dump}
1. corrosive

Her skin was_ burning._

The adrenaline coursed through her veins like liquid steel, like white-hot iron, and she'd never felt so strong in her life, never felt so hot.

Hinata looked up to face the beast, her heart thundering, flying, ready to crack open her ribs and rip open her chest and soar away from her. She held his hand tightly, not daring to look his way - how quickly would this feeling flicker away from her if she lost her nerve?

He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back, harder than she meant to. _'His hand…..'_

She could think clearly again.

Chakra - _his_ chakra - flared around her, and she almost breathed it in. Corrosive, about to melt her, burn her to ashes, flesh and blood electrified. She felt shaky, rattling, almost ready to shatter into a thousand pieces or maybe just burst. Oh, she'd never felt this sort of _power-_

His words echoed proudly through her ears, ringing, and she blinked back the white spots flickering around her vision.


	2. invincibility

"It's a beautiful view."

"Yeah."

They licked their ice cream cones contentedly, looking off over the village, painted swatches of brown, gray, and black from the buildings, and the same vibrant green of the tree leaves. It was late in the afternoon, nearing sunset, where the sky was shining down harsh, yellow rays of light and a fierce blue sky.

Naruto looked over it proudly, and Hinata's heart ached.

"You said you liked coming up here?" she prompted, turning away from her treat. "I mean, it is a beautiful view…"

Naruto turned to her for a moment, blinking his eyes dumbly, then grinned. "Uh, yeah, awesome view," he said. "But not exactly why I like it."

Naruto licked his ice cream and smiled brighter. "This place…is gonna be mine someday," he answered her, sounding older, the confidence smothering his voice a step away from arrogance. "And when I come up here, I feel freaking amazing…like a superhero or somethin'. Like, invincible."

Hinata's nodded almost sagely. "I understand the feeling. To…to want something? To feel proud for it? I feel that way every time I look over the Hyuuga compound. I feel very strong."

Naruto snickered, jerking his chin in assent. "Like, invincible."

She nodded. "Yes…invincible."


	3. haircare

Naruto's fingers threaded through her hair expertly

"You have really have soft hair. Like stupidly soft," he muttered, staring down the thick strands of indigo blue like they'd offended him in some way. It was so soft and slick, too slippery to grip properly, so it was hard to make the braid stay in place. "Jesus christ."

"Oh, Naruto-kun, you know you don't have to, right?"

"I got this."

They sat in on his living room floor, Naruto leaning against the couch with his legs spread and Hinata sitting between them, staring out the window. What began as a day of movies with ramen and popcorn for breakfast, Naruto had began playing with Hinata's hair and things had gotten…rather serious.

"Fucking balls."

"Language."

"Oh, shi- uh, sorry.

The afternoon sunlight peaked through floor-to-wall windows, bathing everything in a mellow light against the cream walls. Hinata's shoulders went slack, but Naruto tugged on her hair unkindly.

"Sit up," he reprimanded. She did as she was told, cheeks dusting pink.

After twenty more minutes and fifteen mildly creative curses later, Naruto smiled brightly and shouted, "Tada! Finished! Fuck yes, I'm awesome."

"Language, Naruto-kun."

"My bad."

"How does it look?" she asked, reaching up to pat the neat, slick braid that felt as complicated against her fingers as it had when he was pulling at multiple different strands of hair at once. "Oh, wow."

"Wait, let me get….," He reached over behind her, snaking his phone from his hoodie pocket, and the snapping a quick picture before handing it to his girlfriend. "Oh yeah. Look at that master piece attached to your head. Worship it."

Hinata stared down at the thick, complicated-looking French braid that he'd somehow twisted, and dear god it was so beautiful she was contemplating worshipping it. Or making him her personal hair stylist.

"Where did you learn to do this?" Hinata asked, reaching back and handing him back the phone. She leaned back into his chest, taking a deep breath in. She hated having to sit straight. It made her shoulders achy and feel fatigued. "It's lovely."

"Baa-chan has pretty hair too. I used to mess with it all the time as a kid. And then when I was little, I'd give the teme pig tails during nap time. That's why he's such a light ." She could hear his smile, unveiled pride. "Shit - wait - I need bobbypins. I'll be right back. Like right back."

He scrambled onto his haunches, smacking a sloppy kiss on her cheek and sprinting out the living room, and up the stairs. "Gimme a sec! And put another movie in! But I swear to God if it's Mean Girls I'll cry!"

Her giggles rang through the apartment.


End file.
